Candle



sept. 21, 1954 F. D. TURNER 4 CANDLE Original Filed June 26,

INVENTOR J N R TH. E K N M F ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 201, 1954 CANDLE Frank D. Turner, Oshkosh, Wis., assignor to Victrylite Candle Company, Oshkosh, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Continuation of application Serial No. 170,289,

YJune 26, 1950.

1954, Serial No. 402,437

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in candles and refers more particularly to the socalled hand-dipped candles which are used for decorative purposes on the dining room table or mantle. The invention is disclosed in thepending application, Serial No. 170,289 filed June 26, 1950, now abandoned, of which this application is a continuation.

Though candle manufacturers intend that the bases of the candles they produce be of uniform diameter, an aggravating lack of uniformity in this respect is inevitable. Additionally, the bores or sockets of candelabras or candle holders lack uniformity. As a result it is often difficult to get a candle to stand erect and firm in the socket of its holder.

This difiiculty no doubt has been experienced by practically everyone who has ever had occasion to light a candle. AThis means that the problem has perplexed the candle maker since the very inception of this very old art; but the best anyone, including those skilled in the art, hasV been able to offer as a solutionto the problem is hardly anything better than the obvious expedient of wrapping some sheet material around the lower endof the candle and then wedging the thus ensheathed candle base down into the socket of the holder, The patent to A. F. Baumer, No. 407,051 issued in 1889, is an example of such `past expedients. Needless to say, all such prior improvisations leave much to be desired and, of course, cannot solve the problem of getting a candle to stand erect in a holder which has a socket larger than the sheath applied to the base of the candle, to say nothing of getting the candle to stand erect on a flat surface as for instance, the middle of a coaster or saucer.

In recognition of the situation above outlined, the present invention has as its primary object and purpose to provide a candle and more specifically a candle of the hand-dipped variety with a novel base construction which enables it to be stood erect and firm in any candle holder and even on any dat supporting surface.

More specifically it is the purpose of this invention to provide the lower end of a candle with a coating or jacket of pliable plastic mastic material which is sufficiently tacky and adhesive at normal room temperatures as to adhere to a supporting surface against which the candle bottom is pressed and by such adhesion alone hold the candle erect, and which coating furthermore readily deforms or shapes itself tothe space in a candle holder socket between the candle body and the walls ofthe socket.

This application January 6, V

Still another object of this invention is to-provide a coating or jacket for the lower end of a candle which not only solves the problem of getting the candle to stand erect under any circumstance but also protects the base end ofthe candle against chipping or breakage.

With the above andl other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claim, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein-disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claim.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a candle embodying this invention, with a portion of the base jacket broken away;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view through Figure 1 on the plane of line 2 2;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional View of the lower portion of the candle showing the same moimted in a candle holder; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the jacketecl base portion of the candle.

The candle of Figure 1 incorporates the present improvement, and merely by way of illustration is of the so-called hand-dipped or tapered type customarily used in the home for decorative purr poses. The invention however, may be applied to any type of candle.

In commercial production candles of certain size specifications are all intended to have the same diameter base portions, but variations are inevitable, especially in the so-called handdipped candles. This fact, together with the variations and eccentricities found in the socket diameters of candle holders creates the problem hereinbefore described; and which this invention eliminates.

The candle body 5, save for the present improvement, is generally of conventional forma tion and may be shaped as shown, or-otherwise. The paraflin or wax forming the body 5 and enclosing the axially positioned wick 6, sets with hard, needle-like particles which, under the microscope, might appear as indicated in Fig. 4. The nature of the wax of the candle body is such that it is hard and brittle and hence devoid of toughness and pliability. It cannot, therefore,

deform or adapt itself to varying sizes of candle holder sockets, assuming that its base was made purposely larger than the socket.

In accordance with this invention the base end portion of the candle body, andvespecially the very bottom thereof, is provided with a coating or jacket indicated by the numeral 1 formed of a Wax, paraffin or other material different in characteristics from that of the candle body but nevertheless self-adherent to the candle body. As shown, the coating across the bottom of the candle is quite thick and as will appear hereinafter it is this portion of the jacket which is the most important.

The wax or parain of the coating or jacket 1 may be characterized as amorphous or tacky micro-crystalline and sets with fiat plate-like crystal particles, which gives it a desired plasticity Aor pliability. More important however, is the fact that the wax of the jacket 1 has a mild tackiness or adhesiveness at normal room temperatures which serves as an adhesive between the candle base and the candle holder and which may be relied upon to hold the candle erect in the socket of a candle holder despite the fact that the socket may be oversize, or for that matter upon any support against which the bottom of the candle is pressed.

While the material of the candle jacket 1 is preferably a wax or parain of the type described, it may be formed of any desired type of synthetic base wax having similar physical properties or of any suitable pliable plastic mastic material. I f desired, the candle base jacket or coating 1 may have any desired or suitable color, preferably different from that of the wax of the candle body 5, imparting to the complete improved candle a unique and distinctive appearance.

Fig. 3 illustrates the manner in which the plastic mastic base jacket 1 of the candle will function within the socket of a candle holder 8. The candle is of course adapted to have its base end inserted into a standard candle holder of the proper size for the particular' candle, but the sockets of candle holders are often too large for the candle and may also have some irregularities or eccentricities which might prevent the candle from'being properly fitted into and supported by the holder. Assuming that the socket of the candle holder 8 has a diameter sulliciently large for the base end of candle 5, the base end of the candle is inserted into the socket of the candle holder and pressed firmly against the bottom thereof. The pliable plastic mastic material of the candle base jacket 1 will deform to ll up the space between the bottom of the socket and the base of the candle, and the tackiness or adhesiveness of the jacket material will cause the candle to be stuck or adhered to the bottom of the socket. This adhesion will be especially secure if the candle is given a slight twist as it is pressed down. Such placement of the candle will also cause the material forming the sides l of the jacket 1 to be deformed and tightly lodged between the sides of the base end of the candle and the inner side wall portions of the socket of the candle holder 8.

If the jacketed base end of the candle is a triiie too large for the socket of the candle holder 3, then the plastic material of the jacket 1 can readily spread or thin out to permit the insertion of the slightly oversized base end of the candle into the holder socket.

The base jacket 1 with which the candle is provided also protects the end of the candle against undesired chipping or fracturing during handling and shipping; and if the jacket is of a color different from that of the candle body a desirably distinctive or characteristic appearance results which enables the candles to be easily identified in a shop or store.

From the foregoing description taken with the accompanying drawing it will be readily apparent that this invention for the first time actually solves the problem of getting a candle to stand erect and firm upon any surface and in any candle holder, and that the means by which it achieves this objective is extremely simple and unquestionably commercially practicable.

What is claimed as my invention is:

A candle having an elongated body of wax which is hard and brittle at normal room temperatures, characterized by the provision of means on the bottom portion of the candle body for securing the candle in an erect upright position on a flat supporting surface as for instance the middle of a dish or the bottom of an oversized candle holder socket, said means comprising a cup-shaped jacket covering the entire bottom end surface of the candle body and extending around the bottom edge thereof and over the adjacent portion of the sidewall of the body, said jacket being formed of a pliable plastic mastic material which is compatible with and bonds readily to the wax body of the candle and which is tacky and adhesive atrnormal room temperatures so as to adhere to a surface against which it is pressed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 407,051 Baumer July 16, 1889 1,609,130 Schact Nov. 30, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 26,176 Great Britain of 1902 OTHER REFERENCES Commercial Waxes by.I-I. Bennet, published by Chemical Publishing Company, Incorporated, Brooklyn, New York, p. 62. 

